10 September 2007

Fortunately, this isn't named after -- or made with -- salad dressing. The brewery is located in the Thousand Islands region of New York near the eastern edge of Lake Ontario. It has been around for about a decade and is apparently expanding rapidly, but this ale was introduced only last year.

It pours an ochre (copper-orange) color with a white head with some lacing. This is a pretty hoppy pale ale, unsurprisingly more in the American style than the English. It's citrusy, but without the dry, grapefruitiness that others have. I sense some malty sweetness. The finish brings a pretty good shot of bitterness to it. It's also pretty high ABV at more than 6%, and I think I can taste that at the end.

I'd rank this fairly highly, close to Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale, which is one I like. Comparatively, the Sackets Harbor either has more dimensions to it, or is too loosely constructed, depending on how you look at it. It's worth a try.